Man critically injured in Laguna Quays skydiving incident
Queensland’s skydiving industry is rallying behind an experienced colleague who fell hard to the ground, leaving him in a critical condition. Police have yet to be able to speak to him as he fights for life.
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An “experienced” skydiver critically injured in a horrific landing at a Mackay region resort has been transferred to Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital.
The 52-year-old had been in critical condition in Mackay Base Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit after he suffered a hard landing at Laguna Quays Resort just before midday on Sunday.
It is understood police officers are still waiting to speak to the man to better understand how the incident could have occurred.
A Mackay Hospital and Health Service spokeswoman confirmed the man had been taken to Brisbane for treatment and The Princess Alexandra Hospital confirmed he was in a critical but stable condition in the Intensive Care Unit.
Mackay Police Inspector Andrew Godbold said the “quite experienced” skydiver had been solo skydiving with a group when the incident occurred about an hour north of Mackay near Midge Point
“Unfortunately, he has had something go wrong close to the ground and he has impacted very heavily there,” he said.
“We understand his chute did deploy, it is just that he has impacted the ground fairly hard.”
WIND A POSSIBLE FACTOR IN HARD FALL
Australian Parachute Federation CEO Richard McCooey said the man, who was an APF member, had “hit the ground much harder than normal” with wind a possible factor at play.
Mr McCooey said the average jump height was from 14,000 feet with parachutes deployed once the skydiver reached 3000 feet about 60 seconds into the dive.
He said the last 3000 feet took about three to four minutes as the skydiver gracefully glided down to the ground and touched down like an aeroplane.
“This particular case, it appears the parachute opened normally at 3000 feet, the descent was all normal, there was nothing wrong at all,” Mr McCooey said.
“It appears in that final bit of the landing, that something has gone wrong.
“It is almost definitely not an equipment failure.
“Once the parachute is open it is open and it doesn’t close itself up again. And it’s got no engine to fail like an aeroplane.”
Mr McCooey said the APF’s investigation into the incident was still in the early stages but it would look into whether the man had gliding “correctly into (the) wind” or whether his hand may have “slipped” out of the handles which steered the parachute.
He said there was no simple answer as to what caused the hard landing, adding even “the most experienced Qantas captain will have a bad landing”.
“With a plane, you’ve got engines to help you out,” he said.
“We can’t do that, we’ve got to get it right on the first go.
“Even the most experienced skydivers don’t always get the judgement right.”
Inspector Godbold said the group the man was skydiving group had reported the incident to emergency services on Sunday.
A RACQ CQ Rescue helicopter crew flew the man to Mackay Base Hospital for urgent treatment, touching down at MBH about 2.10pm, where he was met by doctors on the helipad.
Queensland Ambulance Service paramedics had been called to the Laguna Quays Resort about an hour north of Mackay near Midge Point just before midday on Sunday.
“We have got it down as a hard landing,” a QAS spokeswoman said.
“A male in his 50s is in a critical condition at the old Laguna Quays Resort airport.
“We got the call at 11.42 and a rescue chopper is just landing.”
Laguna Quays is listed as the regular drop zone for Airlie Beach Skydivers.
It is unclear which skydiving service the man was using, however FlightAware data shows a Cessna 208 Caravan with registration VH-XLF conducting skydiving flights in the area Sunday morning.
Flight tracking data shows the plane last taking off from Laguna Quays Resort at 11.14am and reached an altitude of 3660m before landing 27 minutes later at 11.41.
It had conducted four earlier takeoffs and landings from Lakeside Airpark to Laguna Quays Resort on Sunday, as well as a full day of flights on Friday and Saturday.
This publication has contacted Airlie Beach Skydivers for comment.
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Originally published as Man critically injured in Laguna Quays skydiving incident
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